After NFR Success, Team Ropers Colter Todd and Derrick Begay Prioritize Family, Friendship Over Winning

Following more than a decade absence from professional rodeo, Todd made a splash in his return to competition, but that won't factor into his decision about competing in 2024.

It was the 2023 rodeo season’s most unlikely story – a veteran roper, more than a decade removed from his last National Finals Rodeo qualification, returns to the sport with his best friend, reaches NFR, and wins the average championship while finishing among the top five in the world.

Colter Todd’s journey back to Las Vegas with partner Derrick Begay had a movie-like feel, a comeback story that could make anyone smile. And, like any good film these days, it begs the question – will there be a sequel?

“I’m going to say, I don’t know. We’ll just see,” Todd said.

Despite the success of 2023, Todd and Begay haven’t changed their approach to how they live their lives, particularly when it comes to being professional rodeo athletes.

Todd qualified for the NFR for three straight years from 2006-08 before stepping away from the sport to raise his family and work on his ranch in Arizona. While he kept his Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association card active so he could occasionally work as a pick-up man at some local events, he never loaded up in the box to chase a steer, a promise he made to himself and his family when he stopped in 2008.

Begay, his longtime friend and fellow Arizona resident, talked Todd into helping him at some local events in 2021 as he needed a partner and couldn’t convince anyone he normally roped with to travel to Arizona for small rodeos. Todd's kids enjoyed seeing their dad compete for the first time in their lives, prompting some additional regional competition in 2022.

With the support of their families back home, Todd and Begay hit the road last year but with a different approach than most competing in the PRCA. Instead of mapping out a detailed rodeo-to-rodeo schedule, they made the call on whether or not to enter if they were near something. 

It was non-conventional, but it worked. The pair reached the NFR, caught all 10 head, and finished as the average champions. More than that, they got to share the experience with the people they love.

Derrick Begay, left center, and Colter Todd, right center, left Las Vegas as the NFR average champions in 2023 and placed top in the world standings. They will compete at some of the major winter rodeos but haven't made any plans beyond that.

PRCA photo by Roseanna Sales

Todd’s teenage sons, both of whom enjoy the ranching lifestyle, got a kick out of seeing their dad compete at Thomas and Mack Arena. They also enjoyed going to Cowboy Christmas and checking out everything that was for sale. But the highlight from December in Vegas might’ve been non-rodeo-related.

“They didn’t go every day, but every day it was like, ‘Hey, can we go to Top Golf?’ For a lot of people, that sounds crazy, but for my boys, it was something they could work at every day,” Todd said with a laugh. “That was fun for them. They had never swung golf clubs or anything. They are competitive enough that they wanted to get better at it, which I understand. Top Golf is just like a driving range, but in their minds, it’s golf. That was fun.”

Now, the 2024 season is underway, leading to the inevitable question of what will they do?

The success of last season hasn’t altered their approach moving forward. Working their cattle back home, especially during the frigid winter months, remains the top priority. Rodeo, while fun, will always take a back seat.

“What I’m saying right now is that it's the same as it was last year – I don’t know. Rodeo is not for sure. Trying to make it back (to NFR) is not for sure,” Todd said. “Derrick and I haven’t talked at all about it, which is kind of how we’ve done things. We both know where we are at in life with families and other priorities, to where we’ll just see.”

Added Begay: “I guess they call it team roping, so we both have to agree on what we want to do. But it’s more like we kind of take it one rodeo at a time. … We’ll keep it pretty simple and enter one rodeo at a time and see how it goes.”

While a lot is still to be determined, a few things are for sure. The duo did take part in the San Diego Rodeo at Petco Park over the weekend, notching a fourth-place run in the second round to earn $1,000.

Because of their 2023 success, Todd and Begay qualified for the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo, the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo, and RodeoHouston, all three of which they plan to attend. Beyond that, nothing is guaranteed.

“(My wife and I have) kind of hinted or talked about it a little bit (with the boys) but haven’t made any decisions. Depending on what happens as it gets closer, we’ll have to have those meetings, and everybody will have to be on board. And if you have one person who’s not on board, as far as I’m concerned, it’s a no-go for me,” Todd said. “There’s always stuff to do (on the ranch), and it’s not like I'm going to get that opportunity to just sit around and be bored. Home is a great spot to be in, and there’s always plenty to do. It’ll be interesting to see how it all works out.”

And for everyone involved, waiting and seeing seems to be a perfectly acceptable answer.

Begay noted that the experience of last season was special, not because of the success but because he got to share it with his friend. He’s far from being done with rodeo and still plans to compete for many more years.

But if his journey never leads him back to Vegas, that’s OK, too. It was a movie-quality story the last time, and while a sequel would be nice, it’s not necessary.

“If I don’t ever make the NFR again, I’d be satisfied with who I ended it with and how we did,” Begay said. 

Colter Todd, blue shirt, and Derrick Begay will be competing at the winter rodeos in San Antonio, Fort Worth and Houston. Beyond that is still up in the air.

Click Thompson/For PRCA